Directional drilling or boring is generally used for installing infrastructure, such as telecommunications and power cable conduits, water lines, sewer lines, gas lines, oil lines, product pipelines, and environmental remediation casings. Directional drilling allows crossing waterways, roadways, shore approaches, congested areas, environmentally sensitive areas, and areas where other methods are costlier or not possible. The technique has extensive use in urban areas for developing subsurface utilities as it helps in avoiding extensive open cut trenches. The use may require that the operator have complete information about existing utilities so that he/she can plan the alignment to avoid damaging those utilities.
In general, a pipeline can be installed with a directional drilling apparatus under a barrier, such as highway, road, waterway, building, or other surface obstruction without disturbing the barrier. Installation of the pipeline under the barrier typically entails drilling a hole under the barrier and then advancing a pipeline section through the hole.